


Hitting the Jackpot

by bluehearteyes



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-11
Updated: 2014-08-11
Packaged: 2018-02-12 18:45:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2120694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluehearteyes/pseuds/bluehearteyes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Cas breaks Dean's precious rainbow slinky from Plucky Pennywhistle's, he tries everything to fix his mess (and maybe win over Dean in the process).</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hitting the Jackpot

"Cas, we'll only be gone a few days, okay? There's enough food in the fridge, so you shouldn't need any money. Just answer the phone and try not to destroy the place." Cas was only half listening to Dean's speech- it was the same one he heard every time Sam and Dean left him alone for more than two hours. Sure there was that one time where he had tried to use the oven, and that time with the candle, but he'd learned what was flammable since then.

"Don't worry, Dean, I won't try to light anymore candles and I won't try to cook," Cas promised.

"Alright. Just call us if something goes wrong. And don't touch my stuff," Dean added. He and Sam left the bunker, leaving Cas alone for the next three days. He wondered what he could do that wouldn't cause any major disasters. He finally decided to sit and read, since the worst that could happen would be a paper cut. He chose a book with an unfamiliar title and walked to Dean's room. It was his favorite place to read, since it was filled with everything Dean cared about. He usually sat in Dean's room when both brothers were gone on a hunt. It helped him not miss Dean quite so much.

He'd secretly harbored a crush on Dean since he found out the older brother had kept his trenchcoat even after everyone thought he was dead. Even though the Winchesters had been changing cars all year long, the coat was always kept with them. Anytime Cas tried to tell Dean how he felt, however, something always interfered. Whether it was Sam with a new development in a case or some supernatural monster trying to kill them, Cas could never get his feelings out. He figured Dean would completely shut down if he ever told him how he felt, though, seeing as how he flirted with almost every woman they came across. So instead of confessing his feelings, he sat in Dean's room, not really reading, but looking around at Dean's prized possessions.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something he'd never noticed before. It was a strange rainbow-colored cylinder. He closed the book and walked toward the brightly colored mystery object. He knew Dean had said not to touch any of his things, but surely he couldn't hurt anything if he just held it for a second. He reached out and lifted the top, but the bottom of the thing stayed on the table it had been sitting on. Instead of being lifted off of the table like Cas had expected, the cylinder simply started to stretch. The more Cas pulled on the top, the more the rainbow uncoiled. He started walking backwards, still pulling on the top of the colorful spring, until the bottom fell off of the table. It sprung forward a bit, but didn't fully recoil. Cas leaned over to pick up the other end of whatever the thing was to see if anything happened. The middle drooped, but nothing else. He wondered what this thing was and what purpose or meaning it had. He knew Dean wouldn't keep anything that didn't have meaning or purpose, so all that was left to do was find out just exactly what this weird rainbow spring did.

Three hours later and Cas had had no luck in figuring out why Dean had kept a coiled plastic rainbow. He'd tried wearing it as a hat, a scarf, and a belt, but finally concluded it wasn't supposed to be worn. It wasn't any type of container, as it was hollow. He'd also figured out it wasn't for decoration. Dean would never decorate with something rainbow-colored. He decided to see how far he could stretch it out, and maybe that could give him a clue as to the purpose.

He found some tape and stuck one end of the coil to the wall of Dean's room. He then took the other end and started to pull. The plastic rainbow slowly started to uncoil as Cas walked backwards. He could feel the coiled plastic becoming taut in the middle, but he kept waking. It bothered him when he didn't know what something was, especially when that something was a stupid rainbow piece of plastic. Suddenly, the plastic snapped. One piece came flying towards him, the other rocketing back into Dean's room. The part that came at him tangled around itself, forming a mangled plastic projectile. From inside Dean's room he heard a crash and something shatter.

When he was sure nothing was going to come sailing out of nowhere to hit him in the head, he crept timidly into Dean's room like a small child checking his closet for monsters. He saw where the thing had been taped to the wall. The part that had recoiled into the room was still stuck to the wall, the force of the motion causing the killer spring to swing around and knock over a glass that was sitting on a desk. It had fallen and shattered. The glass would be easy to get rid of, but the colorful cylinder couldn't be fixed. It had broken in two and one piece was hopelessly tangled.

"Dammit," Cas said to himself. "Dean will never forgive me." He thought that if he knew what it was he could replace it and Dean would never know. He decided to call Sam early the next morning when he thought Dean would still be asleep. For now he would just have to find a place to hide the pieces.

He woke the next morning at five to call Sam. He'd worried all night about how angry Dean would be.

"Sam?!" Cas said into the phone when the younger Winchester finally picked up.

"Yeah?" Sam answered, sounding tired.

"This is an emergency," Cas said urgently.

"What did you set on fire this time?" Sam asked him, clearly annoyed.

"Nothing!" Cas argued.

"Well can it wait a few hours? The case wasn't a case at all, just some really messed up people. We just left."

"Forget it." Cas hung up, defeated. Dean would find out that he had been in his room and messed with his things. He'd have to explain why he was in there, which meant he'd have to explain about his huge crush on Dean, causing him to be even angrier with Cas than he already would be. So for the next few hours, Cas, sulking alone in the bunker, worried about what Dean was going to think of him. At least he finally understood the phrase "Curiosity killed the cat."

It was just before noon when a very guilty looking Cas watched the Impala pull into the bunker's garage.

"Cas! We're back! What's broken this time?" Dean called to him. Cas walked to meet them, trying to hide the blush creeping onto his face at the last comment.

"Nothing! Nothing's broken. I swear!" Cas answered too quickly. All ability to lie had left him when Dean walked through that door.

"If you say so, Pinocchio. You're not good lying under pressure, are you?" Dean teased.

"I don't understand that reference. And I told you: nothing is broken. I'm not lying, Dean." Cas defended himself, but he could feel his face growing hotter.

"Cas, why'd you call me this morning?" Sam asked.

"Oh, uh... I couldn't figure out the TV remote. It's okay though." Cas knew he was lying through his teeth on that one, but maybe if he didn't say anything Dean wouldn't notice something was missing from his room. He ran off to his room, the guilt of lying to Dean eating at him.

Both brothers went off to their rooms, too, tired after the trip. Cas was dreading the inevitable:Dean would notice something missing and Cas would have to admit that he was the culprit. And sure enough, only a few minutes after Dean had gone, he heard him call to Sam.

"Sam! Have you seen my rainbow slinky? The one you got me from Plucky's?"  
"No, Dean, I haven't seen it since I gave it to you" Sam replied. "Why don't you ask Cas?"

Cas could hear Dean's footsteps getting closer to his room. He knocked on the door and looked inside.

"Cas? You haven't seen my rainbow slinky, have you?"

"I don't know what a 'slinky' is, Dean. What does it look like?"

"Well it's colorful and it's shaped like a cylinder. It's hollow and it coils. You seen it?" Dean tried describing it to Cas, but he knew even without the description that the slinky was, in fact, what he'd broken.

"I'm sorry, Dean. I-"

"It's okay. I didn't figure you'd seen it," Dean interrupted.

"No, I mean- I'm sorry. I broke it. I'm so sorry it was an accident! I just wanted to know what it did and I-" Cas broke off, carefully taking Dean's arm as though he were a bomb about to explode. He led him to where he'd hidden the broken slinky: the very back of his closet. He reached in and pulled out the two parts of the colorful plastic. He showed it to Dean, guilt overwhelming him. He could see Dean's face fall. Sam had given this to him and he had gone and broken it.

"I'm sorry. Are you okay, Dean?" Cas asked, concerned.

"Dammit, Cas."

"It was an accident! I swear!"

"It's fine. Don't worry about it. It was just a stupid kids' toy." And with that, Dean walked out, leaving Cas feeling more alone than when Dean was actually gone.

The following week was incredibly tense in the bunker. There hadn't been a case, and tensions were running high. Cas and Dean barely looked at each other. Cas was angry at himself for ruining another one of Dean's possessions, and Dean was angry at himself... for liking Cas.

Dean had known for a little while how he felt about Cas, but he didn't want to admit it. He'd tried to be angry at Cas for the slinky, but he couldn't. It had taken him a few days to stop lying to himself: that the real reason he was avoiding Cas wasn't because he was upset with him, but because he liked him. And he knew that if he tried to tell Cas he wasn't angry, he'd end up revealing his feelings for him. So instead of telling Cas the truth, he decided it would be easier if he just let him think that he was still angry with him.

Dean's plan was working great- until Cas decided to take matters into his own hands. He hated seeing Dean upset, especially with him. He knew where the toy had come from now, so maybe he could get Dean a new one. And if all went according to plan, Cas thought that maybe he could make a date of this.

"Dean, I want to go to Plucky's. I saw a commercial on TV and it looks fun." Cas said to Dean one morning.

"Cas, that place is for five year olds with lazy parents," Dean argued.

"I do not care. I thought the games looked fun. Please, Dean?" Cas pleaded. Not only was this a way to surprise Dean with a new slinky, but it was also technically a date.

"Fine. Sam, Cas wants to go to Plucky's, you wanna tag along? You can get a picture with the clown!" Dean teased his brother as they left.

"No, thanks. I think I'll just stay here and finish Game of Thrones," Sam called back at them.

Truthfully, Dean had been looking for an excuse to be alone with Cas so he could apologize for being such an ass towards him. Cas had given him the perfect opportunity with this little "date" (as Dean preferred to call it). Maybe Cas would ask him to help teach him to play one of the games. He'd stand behind him and carefully guide his arm like in the movies and maybe-

"Dean. Are you going to start the car of are we just going to sit here?" Cas asked impatiently.

"Right. Sorry," Dean had been cruelly snapped back to reality and he could feel his face turning bright red. He knew that would never happen. He didn't live in a movie, he'd never get a happy ending, he would always just be the best friend. It's why he hated chick flicks so much. They were completely unrealistic and absurdly melodramatic. He should know by now that true love didn't exist, and even if it did it was something beyond his grasp, something he could never have. Everyone he had ever loved had died.

"Dean, are you okay? You seem upset. Is this about the slinky?" Cas questioned him, looking concerned.

"Cas, forget about the damn slinky, alright? It's not that!" Dean fired back.  
They rode the rest of the way in silence.

Once they pulled into the parking lot at Plucky's, Cas scrambled quickly out of the car, Dean lagging behind. They were greeted by an overly cheery "Welcome to Plucky's!", hundreds of children running around and shrieking, and the smell of the place's disgusting food. Cas didn't seem to care, as he rushed immediately over to a worker to buy as many game coins as twenty dollars would allow. It was at the cash register that he saw what he came for: a rainbow jumbo slinky- for a thousand tickets. Suddenly getting Dean's slinky seemed a lot more difficult than it had five minutes ago.

Cas burned through three-fourths of the coins in an hour. Dean followed him around, showing him different games and, though he didn't want to admit it, quite enjoying himself. He showed him some multiplayer racing games, but Cas didn't care for those, as they didn't give any tickets. His favorite game was ski-ball, even though he was terrible. Dean resisted the urge to help him, standing back and watching him instead (in a way that wasn't creepy at all).

So an hour and a half and a hundred and seventy-five coins later, Cas was exactly two hundred tickets away from getting that rainbow slinky. The problem was, he only had five coins left. He tried to think of a way to get the tickets, but to no avail. This had been a wasted trip, and, as far as he knew, Dean was still mad at him. The only way he could get that amount of tickets would be to beat the high score on ski-ball and win the jackpot. Except his highest score was ten thousand, and the score he had to beat was eighty thousand. But he knew he had to try if he ever wanted Dean to forgive him.

His first game only gave ten tickets. Four coins and one hundred and ninety tickets to go. His second attempt was only slightly better: it produced thirteen tickets. By this point, however, it was clear he couldn't get the tickets- unless he had help. He knew Dean was good at this game (he'd scored seventy-six thousand when he showed Cas how to play), and he wanted to get that slinky.

"Dean, I need your help," Cas stated. "I need to beat this high score, but I'm terrible. Maybe you could..." Cas trailed off. There was no way Dean would ever go for his idea. He didn't feel that way and Cas knew it.

"Uh, yeah, I guess I could help you. Why don't I, uh..." Dean stopped. No, he couldn't let Cas know how he felt. What if Cas didn't feel the same way?

It was now or never, Cas decided. "Why don't you help me roll the ball? Like the people in the movies. You could stand behind me and I could roll the ball," Cas knew he couldn't take it back now. It was out, Dean was going to be even more upset, and their friendship would be ruined.

Dean froze. Surely Cas wasn't suggesting what Dean thought he was. Did he feel the same as Dean? His first instict told him to run and never look back, that nothing like this could ever possibly work. But part of him had to find out how Cas felt. "Uh, Cas... that's what  _couples_ do. But if it really matters that much to you, " Dean answered, trying to hide both his blush and the smile creeping onto his face. At least he'd made it clear that they weren't a couple, so that if Cas didn't like him like that, his answer wouldn't seem too weird. He stood behind Cas and carefully took his arm into his own hand. He was scared to hold his hand, in case Cas didn't actually feel that way about him. But then Cas slid his arm up, forcing Dean to take his hand.

"Cas, people are staring," Dean whispered.

"That doesn't matter to me. I... am having fun. I like this, Dean. You smell nice," Cas added suddenly, without thinking.

"Man Cas, you sure know how to make a nice moment awkward," Dean laughed.

"So you think this is a nice moment?" Cas asked, a glimmer of hope in his voice.

"Uh, yeah. I like spending time with my best friend," Dean tried to cover his mistake.

"Oh. Okay." Cas' face fell. Was that all he was? A friend?

"Okay. You want to aim for the ten thousand ring in the corner. It's best to roll from an angle." Dean swung Cas' arm forward, and the ball sailed into the ten thousand ring. "See? You did it! Do you want me to keep helping you?" Dean asked.

"Yes, I'd like that," Cas replied, a hint of a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

The next rolls were just as successful, and the score was at seventy-one thousand. All they needed to win was to sink the last ball into the ten thousand ring. If the ball went anywhere else, the most tickets they could win would be fifty. Cas could feel his palms beginning to sweat, the pressure of trying to get the slinky and Dean's hand holding onto his making him incredibly nervous. He had to win.

Dean held onto Cas' hand, as nervous as ever. He was trying to concentrate on the game, but he couldn't help wondering what exactly Cas wanted with a thousand tickets. He knew that whatever it was, it must be important. He couldn't let Cas down now, not when they were so close to winning. He forced himself to focus on the game and not the fact that he was pressed so close against Cas that he could feel every breath, or that he was holding Cas' hand, or even that Cas looked frankly adorable with that look of determination on his face, and wow, his eyes were so blue and-

"Dean, are you feeling okay? Your face is quite red and your breathing and heart rate have increased," Cas said, sounding worried.

"Yeah, no, I'm fine. Uh... let's just finish this game," Dean replied, face bright red and clearly flustered. Cas seemed to believe him, or at least he didn't push him for more information. He let Dean take his hand again and lined up the shot. Dean slowly pulled his arm back and let Cas roll the final ball. It whizzed up the ramp and landed directly in the ring worth ten thousand points. Bells rang and beacons flashed, signaling they'd beat the high score.

"Dean, we won!" Cas yelled excitedly. He finally had enough tickets to get Dean a new rainbow slinky. With adrenaline clouding his rational thinking, he reached out to grab Dean's face and kiss him, but at that moment Dean ducked to collect the tickets. Cas backed away, slightly disappointed that something had interfered again. Or maybe Dean knew what he was about to do, but he didn't want to tell Cas that he only liked him as a friend. It hurt to think about that possibility. He took the tickets from Dean and told him to wait there. He wanted the slinky to be a complete surprise. He tried to contain his excitement as he waked toward the counter to get the toy. All other thoughts had been pushed aside. Even if Dean didn't like him as any more than a friend, he would still be happy about the slinky, and just the thought of Dean's reaction made Cas break out in a huge smile.

"I'd like that rainbow slinky, please," Cas said to the person working. The worker retrieved the slinky and took his tickets. He practically sprinted to Dean, as excited as a child on Christmas morning.

"Dean! DEAN DEAN DEAN!!!" Dean heard Cas before he saw him. His low voice was easy to identify in a room full of pre-schoolers. He saw him round the corner, carrying a colorful blob in one hand. As he got closer, however, the blob began to look familiar. It couldn't be...

"This is for you, Dean." Cas handed him a brand new slinky, a smile spread wide across his face. Dean couldn't believe what he was seeing. Cas had spent two hours playing game after game and racking up tickets just to get a new slinky. He was overcome with happiness. It was on of the nicest things anybody had ever done for him.

"Cas- I," Dean tried to form a complete sentence, but he thought if he talked he'd start crying like a little kid- and he was not about to let people think he was a child. So instead of thanking Cas, he simply took the other man's face in his hands and kissed him firmly on the mouth. People were staring and whispering, some practically dragging their kids away. Dean didn't care. He knew that Cas shared his feelings, and that's all that mattered. He melted into the kiss, running a hand through Cas' hair.

Cas hadn't expected this reaction at all. Not that he minded. All he could think about was Dean: his soft lips, the way his hand felt when it ran through his hair, and the look in his eyes when he'd seen the toy. He let go of all hesitation as he kissed back. The kiss was deep and slow and absolutely _perfect_. Suddenly, Cas felt Dean pull away. When he opened his eyes, Dean was staring at him.

"Thank you. For everything, Cas," Dean whispered.

"You don't have to thank me. Knowing that you care about me is thanks enough," Cas replied. He gathered up the slinky and took Dean's hand. They didn't let go of each others' hand until they got home, except to open the car doors.

"How did you find that slinky anyway?" Dean asked once they were home.

"Well- uh- I was in your room. Because... I missed you. I like to sit in there when you're gone. It makes me feel closer to you." Cas finally admitted. He'd already kissed him, it wasn't like there was anything left to hide.

"You missed me, huh? You big sap!" Dean laughed and punched Cas' arm playfully. "Well I was thinking, uh, since you like my room so much... why don't you stay there. With me. Like-"

"I know what you're saying Dean. And yes, I'd love to move into your room." Cas smiled. "I- I love you," he said.

"I love you too, Cas," Dean replied.

"Awww, look how cute! Please tell me this means I don't have to put up with your constant longing stares anymore," Sam said, suddenly appearing from the doorway. "As long as you two don't make out every time we gank some monster then I'm cool with this. Do you know how long I've had to suffer through intense staring sessions between you two? You guys were always-"

"Oh shut up," Dean laughed, and threw the slinky jokingly at his brother.

"I'll just leave you two alone. Behave yourselves!" Sam yelled with mock sternness.

"I'm glad you broke that slinky, Cas," Dean said.

"Me too, Dean."


End file.
